Product Reviews

Pacifica Hawaiian Ruby Guava: Paradise Lost? Find It in This Bottle

June 28th, 2010 by Karen 35 Comments

pacifica hawaiian ruby guava

Adding beauty fuel to my burning Pacifica obsession: Hawaiian Ruby Guava Body Wash ($18) and Body Butter ($18).

Both bits are part of Pacifica’s five-piece Hawaiian Ruby Guava collection of body care products scented with an island-y brew of guava, pomello (a citrus fruit, kinda like a grapefruit) and coconut.

The scent’s been around for a while, and I’m kicking myself for not trying it sooner. It smells authentic to me, and not overly sugary or artificial like so many of the Hawaiian-themed fragrances that are out there now. I catch a whiff on my skin and DING! DING! “This is the captain speaking. Flight attendants, prepare the cabin for landing. Welcome to Hawaii, folks, and mahalo for choosing to fly with us and Pacifica Hawaiian Ruby Guava…”
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Bargainistas: Keep an Eye Out for the $11 NYX Purple Smokey Look Kit

June 28th, 2010 by Karen 64 Comments

nyx purple smokey look kit review swatches photos

The times, they are a-changin’, edgy eyeshadow lovahs, and ground zero’s at a drugstore near you. Thanks to budget brands like NYX, colorful shadows have gotten a lot more accessible over the past few years. Case in point: NYX’s new NYX Purple Smokey Look Kit for summer, aka one of the best drugstore palettes I’ve seen in a really long time.

It’s a little hard to tell from these pictures because I forgot to take one with me holding it, but the case easily fits in the palm of my hand and looks built for easy travel. This particular palette, the Purple Smokey Look Kit, is one of three released from NYX for summer, and like the others it costs just $11! $11! This one comes with nine color coordinated powder shadows and two lipsticks.

If I’d known absolutely nothing about NYX before taking a look at this palette, I would’ve assumed the shadows, which come in various shades of purple, blue and black, were from a department store line like MAC. Like pricier products, they go on with vibrant pigmentation, wet or dry, blend easily and stay put all day long without fading.
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Should You Take a Shine to Bobbi Brown Denim & Rose Raspberry Lip Gloss?

June 28th, 2010 by Karen 26 Comments

bobbi brown raspberry lipgloss reviews photos swatches

If you catch yourself singing Prince’s Raspberry Beret (ya know, the kind you find at a second hand store) while wearing Bobbi Brown’s Raspberry Shimmer Lip Gloss ($20), maybe we could sing a duet! — because every time I apply this shimmery, non-sticky cutie, the sole lipgloss in Bobbi’s new Denim & Rose collection for fall, I feel like belting the song.

Thematically, the Denim & Rose collection combines the toughness of denim and the softness of rose with makeup (and cute packaging!) for rock n’ roll smokey eyes and romantic lips and cheeks.

For more on Bobbi Brown Denim & Rose, check out these previous posts…

Everything’s Coming Up Denim & Roses for Bobbi Brown’s Latest Fall Palette

Bobbi Brown Denim & Rose Fall 2010: Denim Sparkle Eye Shadow

Bobbi Brown Denim & Roses Extreme Party Mascara: A Haiku Review

Like a study in contrasts, Raspberry’s reddish pink feels innocent yet a little naughty at the same time. It taunts and teases onlookers without hastily giving up the goods.
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Bobbi Brown Denim & Roses Extreme Party Mascara: A Haiku Review

June 25th, 2010 by Karen 12 Comments

bobbi brown extreme party mascara denim

New from Bobbi Brown
Extreme Party Mascara
Denim is the shade

It’s part of the new
Denim & Roses release
Coming out next month

Twenty-two dollars
And limited edition
In dark, blackish blue

It’s a new color
There is also one in black
(Here is a review)

bobbi brown extreme party mascara denim
After three coats of Extreme Party Mascara in Denim

That one flaked so much
Left smudges beneath my eyes
I was not a fan

This new shade’s better
No flakes or smudges in sight
I like it a lot

The blackish blue shade
It shows up on my lashes
Subtle, but pretty

Lashes look longer
Defined and separated
But lash volume lags

bobbi brown extreme party mascara denim
After three coats of Extreme Party Mascara in Denim

bobbi brown extreme party mascara denim
Nekkid lashes!

Love how light this feels
Even after many coats
Soft and not crispy

A feathery fringe
Can be had with Denim’s help
Bobbi, ya done good

MBB Rating…
B+ 🙂

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Chanel Les Contrastes de Chanel Fall 2010: Cassis Long-Lasting Eyeliner Equals Love

June 25th, 2010 by Karen 14 Comments

Chanel Cassis Long Lasting Eyeliner Review Swatches Photos

Coco doesn’t do anything halfway, and with Chanel Long-Lasting Eyeliner in Cassis ($28), she’s setting her sights on our eyes!

I always knew it would take something special to lure me away from my tried-and-true MAC Technakohl eyeliners. Cassis, a dark plummy black matte liner (cassis, aka blackcurrant), just barely outlasts the Techs (should be noted, though, that it costs considerably more), and it’s one of two eyeliners in the new Les Contrastes de Chanel fall collection, the second being Chanel’s $27 Intense Eye Pencil in Clair.
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Chanel Les Contrastes de Chanel Fall 2010: The Joues Contrastes Will Leave You Blushing for More

June 24th, 2010 by Karen 58 Comments

Chanel Pink Explosion Joues Contraste Blush

To complement the dark, smokey eyes and soft lips of fall’s Les Contrastes de Chanel makeup collection, Chanel crafted three of the most beautiful Joues Contraste Powder Blushes ($42) I’ve seen from the line in a really long time. I mean, just look at ’em in their pans!

Rose Temptation (a warm and shimmery rosy brown), Plum Attraction (a shimmery deep plum) and Pink Explosion (a shimmery cool pink) wow me in ways that last year’s Fresque didn’t.

All three of the new limited edition shades pack off-the-charts pigmentation yet still look pretty natural at the same time. The recipe Chanel used of subtle, shimmery powders and buttery, blendable colors just works, and like previously released blushes in the Joues Contraste line, all of them have the subtle signature JC rose scent.

Chanel Plum Attraction Joues Contraste Blush
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Puzzled by Smokey Eyes? Maybe the Chanel Enigma Eyeshadow Quad Can Help

June 24th, 2010 by Karen 44 Comments

chanel enigma eyeshadow quad review swatches photos

There’s something to be said for tradition. Take fall makeup, for instance, and the Chanel Enigma Eyeshadow Quad ($56). Although I love that Chanel went totally renegade with the summery Rouge Coco lipsticks and Glossimer lipglosses from the Les Contrastes collection, it’s also kind of comforting to get seasonal products that typify the season, ya know?

The moment I saw this quad, the first thing I thought was, “What’s the connection between these shades and the new Rouge Coco colors?” I didn’t immediately see how/if the four shimmery shades of peach, chocolate gray, violet gray and dark plum were related to the lippies, but I think I’m beginning to understand.

Doesn’t the shimmery peach shadow in the quad look related to Rouge Coco lipstick in Chintz? I feel like its golden pink undertones also play off the iridescence in the Petite Peche, Coral Love and Rose Dilemma Glossimers.
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Chanel Les Contrastes de Chanel Collection Fall 2010 Glossimers: Kiss Me, Please!

June 23rd, 2010 by Karen 41 Comments

Chanel Les Contrastes de Chanel Collection Fall 2010 GLOSSIMER

Evenin’, ladies! I couldn’t wait to show you these four new ~~limited edition~~ (I just found out these are being added to Chanel’s permanent line up, yay!) Chanel Glossimer shades from the upcoming Les Contrastes de Chanel fall collection ($30 each). If peach, pink and coral glosses quicken your pulse like they do mine, you just might want to take a few deep breaths before you s c r o l l …

Teaser, my favorite one of these non-sticky cuties, is a vivid, can’t-miss-me rosy pink with golden iridescence, but if you prefer glosses with a quieter vibe (shh), there’s always Petite Peche (a sheer but shimmery pale peach), Coral Love (a sheer but shimmery coral with golden iridescence) or Rose Dilemma (a sheer and shimmery mid-tone bluish pink). Each adds a faint whisper of color with plenty of shine.

Chanel Les Contrastes de Chanel Collection Fall 2010 GLOSSIMER
From left: Petite Peche, Teaser, Coral Love, Rose Dilemma
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